weed

weed — noun

1. Any plant that people did not plant themselves and consider a nuisance in their

1.nounB1
Definition

Any plant that people did not plant themselves and consider a nuisance in their yard, vegetable patch, or farmland, because it takes water and nutrients from the flowers or crops they want to grow.

Example

Asher spent the whole Saturday morning pulling weeds out of his vegetable patch.

collocation: pull weeds / pull out weeds

Dandelions are common weeds that can spread across a lawn very quickly.

Common collocations
  • pull weeds
  • grow like a weed
  • weed-infested
  • full of weeds
  • choked with weeds
Synonyms
  • wild plant

    neutral, less common; 'weed' is the everyday term

  • invasive plant

    specifically plants that spread aggressively and harm local ecosystems

Antonyms
  • crop

    a plant deliberately grown for food or profit

  • flower

    a plant kept for its beauty rather than removed

Common Mistakes

I need to weed the grass from my garden.
I need to weed my garden.
'weed' as a verb already means removing unwanted plants; you don't need to say 'the grass from'.

2. The dried leaves and flowers of the cannabis plant, which people smoke, eat, or

2.nounB2
Definition

The dried leaves and flowers of the cannabis plant, which people smoke, eat, or drink for their relaxing or mind-altering effects.

Example

Some people smoke weed to help them relax after working all week.

collocation: smoke weed

The police officer found a small bag of weed inside the glove box.

Common collocations
  • smoke weed
  • sell weed
  • a bag of weed
  • weed brownie
  • weed dealer
Synonyms
  • cannabis

    more formal and clinical; the scientific/legal term

  • marijuana

    similar informality level; more common in American English

  • pot

    equally informal; very common in casual speech

Usage Note

Slang term for cannabis. 'Weed' is less clinical than 'cannabis' and less formal than 'marijuana'. Common in casual conversation but may be considered inappropriate in formal or professional settings.

3. Cigarettes or other products made from the tobacco plant, usually for smoking.

3.nounB2
Definition

Cigarettes or other products made from the tobacco plant, usually for smoking.

Example

Tomás stepped outside the office to have a quick weed before the meeting.

British informal: 'have a weed' = smoke a cigarette

My grandfather always kept a pouch of loose tobacco for his evening weed.

Common collocations
  • have a weed
  • the weed
  • give up the weed
  • a pouch of weed
Synonyms
  • tobacco

    the neutral, standard term for the plant or product

  • cigarette

    more specific; refers to a single rolled tobacco product

  • baccy

    colloquial British slang, short for tobacco

Usage Note

Primarily British informal usage. 'The weed' as a mass noun refers to tobacco or cigarettes in general. Not common in American English, where 'weed' almost always means cannabis.

Common Mistakes

I bought a pack of weeds.
I bought some weed.
In the tobacco sense, 'weed' is uncountable; 'a pack of cigarettes' is clearer.

4. Someone whose body is very thin and lacking in physical strength, or whose chara

4.nounC1
Definition

Someone whose body is very thin and lacking in physical strength, or whose character is timid and unable to stand up for themselves.

Example

The other children at school called Devika a weed because she was so small.

informal: call someone a weed (insult)

Don't be such a weed — tell them how you really feel about the decision.

Common collocations
  • called him a weed
  • feel like a weed
  • such a weed
Synonyms
  • wimp

    focuses on lacking courage rather than being thin

  • weakling

    more direct; emphasizes physical weakness over thinness

  • pushover

    describes someone easily persuaded or taken advantage of

Antonyms

Usage Note

Can describe either a thin/lanky physique or a timid/weak-willed personality. The physical meaning ('thin') is not necessarily negative in a purely descriptive context, but the character meaning ('weak-willed') is always an insult.

Common Mistakes

He is a weed on the basketball court.
He is a skinny player on the basketball court.
'Weed' for a person is always derogatory or teasing, not a neutral description of thinness.
Phrasal verbs

weed out

phrasal verb

To remove or get rid of the people or things that are not good enough, from a larger group.

The manager decided to weed out the weakest members of the sales team.

The entrance exam is designed to weed out applicants who are not fully prepared for the course.

Idioms

in the weeds

idiom

Deeply stuck in a difficult situation or overwhelmed with too many tasks or problems.

The small restaurant was in the weeds during the lunch rush, with orders piling up everywhere.

After the tax forms arrived, Mayumi found herself deep in the weeds trying to make sense of them.

weed — verb

Word family

  • weedy
    adjectiveC1
  • weedkiller
    nounB2
  • weeding
    nounB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Weed, wild plant, invasive plant, and herb all refer to plants that grow naturally, but they differ in how people value them. A weed is defined by human perspective — any plant growing somewhere it is not wanted, regardless of its qualities. A wild plant is a neutral term for any plant that grows without human cultivation; unlike 'weed', it carries no negative judgment. An invasive plant is a more specific category — a type of weed that spreads aggressively and harms local ecosystems, such as kudzu or Japanese knotweed. An herb is a plant valued for its medicinal, culinary, or aromatic uses; interestingly, the same plant (like dandelion) could be called a weed in a lawn and an herb in a kitchen garden. Use 'weed' when expressing frustration or the need for removal, 'wild plant' for neutral observation, and 'invasive plant' for ecological contexts.

weed ↗wild plantinvasive plantherb ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • grow like a weed
  • weed something out

Prepositions

Etymology

Proto-GermanicOld EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

The word 'weed' comes from Old English 'wēod', meaning a wild plant or herb, especially one that grows abundantly. This word goes back to Proto-Germanic '*weudą' and is related to Old Saxon 'wiod' and Old High German 'wiota' (fern, weed). The modern senses — meaning cannabis (early 20th century), tobacco (British slang, 19th century), and a weak person (16th century) — are all metaphorical extensions of the original unwanted-plant meaning, comparing what is worthless or unwanted in different domains.